It's Not The Same
by KashinaKairi
Summary: Things aren't quite the same with 8th squad. Aizen has just left Soul Society, Nanao is flirting with Shunsui, and Shunsui is doing paperwork...wait WHAT! Will 8th ever be the same again?
1. Oops

I do not own Bleach.

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~8th squad~

"WHERE IS HE!" All of the shinigami in 8th squad pressed themselves against the wall or jumped over the railing to get out of the Fukutaichou's way. Nanao was not in a good mood. She had piles of work to do, most of it her Taichou's, and said Taichou was no where to be found. Aizen had just left Seireitei and 8th had agreed to do 5th squad's paperwork until 5th squad was able to do it themselves.

She had searched most of the squad buildings after having searched all of the bars in Seireitei. Next she was going to try 13th squad. He could always be found there if he wasn't anywhere else he usually was.

Nanao huffed as she shunpoed to 13th squad. She stepped lightly onto the porch in front of Ukitake-Tauchou's barrack. She looked around, but couldn't see or sense her Taichou. Nanao sighed heavily. "Where could he be?"

"Looking for Shunsui?" Nanao nearly screamed at the white haired Taichou's entrance. "He was at his house last time I saw him." Jushiro was slightly worried about his friend, but he relaxed knowing Nanao was looking for him. He knew Shunsui would be in good hands, with a hard book in his face.

"Thank you, Ukitake-Taichou." Nanao fixed her glasses as she bowed to the man before leaving for Shunsui's house, her trusty book tucked under her arm. She had been there multiple times while she was young. She had to make sure he didn't drink himself to death after Lisa had disappeared.

She raised her hand to knock, but stopped when she heard someone moving inside the house. "Taichou?"

"I'm fine Nanao-chwan. You can go back to work." Nanao could hear the slight slur in the way he said her name. He was drinking.

Nanao opened the door and nearly fell over from the stench that hit her. 'How much can he drink in a day?' Nanao tentatively walked into the house. She made her way around piles of dishes, books, scrolls, and strange viles. 'Does he ever clean?' She continued till she found a mass of pink fabric and sake bottles. "Taichou?"

Shunsui didn't bother to lift his sakkat off his face. He wasn't drunk enough to be anything but depressed. "Nanao-chwan shouldn't have to see me like this."

"Then stop drinking so much. It's only been a day. Shouldn't you be happy that you were able to stop the execution, and that you are still a Taichou. You could have lost your position...or your life." Nanao was worried what had happened to Shunsui after she had recovered from the Soutaichou's reiatsu attack. She had feared the worse, but knew he would have gotten off easy, if Yamamoto didn't kill him.

"Aww! Nanao-chwan was worried about me!" Shunsui stood up and tried to hug Nanao, but he tripped over something. He feel back onto the futon he was laying on. "Looks like I can't get up." He smiled at Nanao like a child.

Nanao shook her head to keep herself from smiling back at him. His smile was infectious and adorable, she had a hard time resisting his smile. She stepped forward to try and help him, but her foot caught on a pile of books. "Gah!"

Shunsui wrapped his arms around her. He wasn't going to let her get hurt in his mess. "Caught you." He sounded like he was playing a game of tag. He took another step, meaning to get them out of the messy room, but found his foot slipping beneath him. His foot slipped out from under him and they both fell to the ground.

*CRACK*

*POOF*

"Are you *cough* okay?!" Nanao was worried Shunsui had broken something. She fanned her hand in front of her to stop breathing in the smoke. She couldn't feel Shunsui beneath her, just the hardwood floor. She looked around in the smoke, but couldn't see much.

"I'm okay. I think I landed on something though." Nanao frowned as she heard a feminine voice reply her.

Nanao walked towards the voice, but found she was having trouble walking in a straight line. 'Am I drunk or something?!'

"Yo! Nanao-chan! Where are you, lovely Nanao-chan?" Nanao didn't know what to make of the voice, but Shunsui was definitely speaking.

She saw a hand waving through the smoke. She reached out and grabbed the small hand. She pulled it out of the smoke and turned back to stare at herself.

"Kya!" Nanao fell over and backed away quickly. She saw her body frown at her then open it's mouth wide.

"Well that's strange." Shunsui stared at his body as it screamed, fell over, and backed into the counter in his kitchen. "Nanao-chan?"

Nanao stared at her body. "Taichou? What did you fall on?" Nanao looked at herself. Her hands were calloused, her feet were bare, and she reeked of sake. She stood up and staggered her way to the mirror in the hall. She looked back into Shunsui's chocolate brown eyes. "This is weird. How did this happen?!" She rubbed her hand along his jaw line and the scruff that was on it. It was surprisingly soft.

Shunsui followed Nanao, his body, into the hall. He examined his hands as he walked, they were free of any scars or callouses, and soft as silk, and his face as well. "Nanao-chan has silky skin. It's so soft."

Nanao glared at Shunsui as he continued to rub her cheeks. "Stop that! Don't just feel up someone's body while you're in it!" Nanao didn't know what to do. She didn't know any kido that could help. She wasn't even sure what could cause this.

"Nanao-chan can feel my body as much as she wants." Shunsui wrapped his arms around Nanao.

"Taichou!" Nanao blushed madly as she tried to pull Shunsui off of her. "Now is not the time to be thinking like that! We need to find out how to reverse this!"

"Nanao-chan can call me Shunsui. She is in my body after all." Shunsui smiled at Nanao as he let go of her and walked to his kitchen. "Would you like some tea? It might help with the hangover later." He was wishing he hadn't drank so much now.

Nanao sighed as she followed him into the kitchen. She sat down at his counter and was surprised at how easily she could slide into one of the chairs. Then remembered, she wasn't in her own body. She was watching it go around Shunsui's kitchen making tea. She thought it was actually a nice thing to see. She had wanted to do it a few times.

Nanao quickly shook her head. "Any idea what you broke?" She wanted to get her body back before Shunsui did anything with it.

"Not a clue." Nanao sweat dropped as she stared at her body with her Taichou in it. "I don't really know what is on my floor. I just know that I have a lot of artifacts in there." Nanao could have fallen off her chair, but she didn't know if she could stand after that. She was getting sleepy.

Shunsui smiled as he saw Nanao starting to get sleepy. "Tired my lovely Nanao-chan?"

"And who's fault is that. Stop drinking so much." Nanao tried to keep her eyes open, but it wasn't working. "I'm going to bed." She got up, but her legs wouldn't support her.

"Easy there. Sorry, I drank quite a bit." Shunsui smiled as he half carried Nanao into his bedroom. 'She's surprisingly strong.' He noticed Nanao had fallen asleep and was even more surprised that he could carry his own body. 'How strong is she?'

Shunsui laid Nanao onto his bed and pulled the covers over her...him...her in his body.

"Looks like this is going to be very complicated." Shunsui smiled as he cuddle up next to Nanao. "I make a very comfy pillow." Shunsui smiled as he drifted off to sleep. 'Nanao-chan is going to be a handful in the morning. I can deal with it then.'

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Please leave a comment or a question.


	2. Payback

I do not own Bleach.

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~The next morning~

Nanao stretched as she turned her head to the rising sun. She felt something cuddle against her chest and looked down to see herself. And she was cuddling Shunsui's chest. 'Wait a minute.' Yesterday played through her head.

Nanao threw the bed sheets off of her and ran into the bathroom. She looked in the mirror and saw Shunsui's face staring back at her. "So it wasn't a dream. Damn it." Nanao sighed heavily as she walked back into the bedroom.

Shunsui slowly rubbed his eyes and sat up. He wasn't too happy about being woken up. "It's too early Nanao-chan." Shunsui yawned and stretched his limbs. His eyes widened when he noticed he was talking to his own body. "Right. I almost forgot what happened." He dodged a pillow that was thrown at him. "Careful Nanao-chan. Remember that I'm in your lovely body."

"That's precisely what I don't need right now. There is paperwork to be done and a war to prepare for." Nanao stood at the edge of the bed and glared at Shunsui. "I am not going to fight your battles for you."

"I don't expect you to." Shunsui placed his hands on Nanao's scruffy face. 'Thats going to take some getting use to.'

'No kidding. It's going to be weird having to be on a different hip. You'll have to train to be able to use us in this body.' Shunsui nearly jumped at the sound of his zanpakutou.

"Zanpakutou? Do you still have yours?" Nanao was curious, she hadn't heard from Kurogokegumo yet. She usually never said nothing after something like this happened.

'You got that right. Don't know how I feel about being man handled.' Nanao sweat dropped as her zanpakutou snickered at her.

"I'm guessing yours just resurfaced again? At least we still have our own." Shunsui got off the bed and walked to his closet. "Right. I need to get a uniform out of your closet." He saw the near murderous look Nanao was giving him with his own face. "Don't worry I won't do anything. Nanao-chan's body is a beautiful temple that I will worship forever and would never defile. Unless she wanted me to." He quickly avoided a punch aimed at him. He then shunpoed out of the room. He was surprised at how fast Nanao's body could shunpo.

Nanao sighed as Shunsui left to change into a fresh uniform, in her body. "Guess I should change as well-" She realized what that meant. She would have to see Shunsui's naked body. "Why did this have to happen this week- Well he's going to have fun." Nanao snickered at her realization. This week was her time of the month, and it was always painful.

'Isn't that a little cruel?' Kurogokegumo questioned her master's response. Neither were ones to cause suffering, they just gave swift deaths.

"He'll survive." Nanao pulled out a uniform and laid it on the bed. 'Okay. I just won't change the underwear.' She began to undress, but stopped once she reached the pants. 'No wonder he feels comfortable sunbathing naked. Shunsui I am going to kill you.'

~somewhere else in Seireitei~

Shunsui sneezed as he walked back to his house. "Someone must be taking about me." He continued to walk as he ran a hand through Nanao's silky black hair. He never noticed how soft it was, or how long it was. It fell to just past his shoulders. "I wonder why she doesn't wear it down more often?"

"Nanao-chan!" Shunsui turned to see a busty blond running towards him. He was surprised Rangiku was a little taller than him. "Where have you been? You weren't at the meeting this morning. I thought you were deathly ill or something." Rangiku smiled at her friend as she caught her breath while hugging the girl tightly and releasing her. "What are you up to? Isn't this they way to Kyoraku-Taichou's house? Does he like you with your hair down?" Rangiku winked at her friend, she had been trying to get the two together for months.

Shunsui tried to think of how Nanao would answer, but he came up with nothing. "Um...well...you see..."

"Nanao-chan's stuttering. How far did you get?" Rangiku was a little bit surprised at how fast her friend had gotten into a relationship with Shunsui. Both were in love with each other, but neither had told the other. "Have you told him you love him yet? You've been saying you were going to tell him for months now. It's starting to get anoying listening to him beg me to tell him what you think about him."

"I have?" Shunsui was surprised, Rangiku usually never told secrets, but then again. He was in Nanao's body.

Rangiku looked at her friend with worry. She placed a hand on her forehead to check her temperature. "Are you feeling alright? Maybe you should rest."

"I'm okay. I just need to go get Shunsui for work." Shunsui started walking away from the blond slowly.

"Already on first name terms. You little fox, Nanao-chan." Rangiku teased her friend one last time before heading back to her own squad.

Shunsui sweat dropped as he turned and continued back to his own house. 'That didn't go too well.'

'You think?' Shunsui rolled his eyes at Katen Kyokotsu's sarcasm. 'If you paid more attention to her conversations and less time flirting and daydreaming, maybe it wouldn't have been so bad. I wonder how the little fox is doing with getting dressed? She at least had underwear on her body. You've probably scarred her for life.'

'I'm sure she'll manage. She is my Nanao-chan after all.' He walked into his house and stopped when he noticed the lack of mess in his entryway. "Nanao-chan, have you been cleaning?"

Nanao peeked her head out of the bedroom. "It was a mess. Of course I cleaned." Nanao walked out as she tightened Shunsui's light blue sash around her waist, it was surprisingly slim for a man of his stature.

'Or size.' Nanao paled and blushed at the comment from her zanpakutou.

Shunsui smiled at the face his body was making. "Something amusing your zanpakutou said?"

"Wouldn't you like to know?" Nanao walked into the kitchen and began making tea.

"Were's my kimono and sakkat? You can't go out without them. I would never go out without them." Shunsui knew they had to keep the fact that they had switched bodies a secret. It would only cause problems.

"They are a violation to the dress code. Plus you have far too many. How many pink kimonos does one man need? And how can you not have a single pair of underwear!?" Nanao did not like the current feeling she had between her legs. It was already foreign enough to her.

"Sorry, but I find it too restricting, and one can never have too many kimonos." Shunsui smiled at Nanao as she handed him a cup of tea. "I'm fine Nanao-chan."

"No. Drink. You'll thank me later." Nanao smiled knowingly at him. He had no clue what was coming. "This is where the payback begins. You're going to want to make sure you have my little red bag with you. Otherwise you might embarrass me too much and I will be forced to get rid of all of your kimonos."

Shunsui didn't understand what Nanao was talking about, but he drank the tea he was given anyway. "I'll help you pick out a kimono. Maybe the sparkly one today."

Nanao rolled her eyes as she followed her body back to Shunsui's room. 'Please let this be a nightmare.'

'Wish it was darling. Then I could use it on you when you need a good scaring.' Nanao growled at her zanpakutou. She wasn't helping the situation.

"We will also have to wear each other's zanpakutou." Shunsui had pulled out several kimonos, he couldn't decide which one was better. "I've already told Katen Kyokotsu. She's not happy about it, but understands that it is necessary."

'Kurogokegumo? Did you hear that?' Nanao asked her zanpakutou as she put Shunsui's sakkat onto her head. It felt surprisingly comfortable.

'Yeah, yeah. I gotta be with the pervert. At least I don't have to worry about feeling his hands on me.' Nanao rolled her eyes at her zanpakutou.

"She gets it as well." Nanao picked up one of the pink kimonos from the bed and placed it on her shoulders. It added another layer and caused a comfortable warmth to settle over her. "I see why you like all the layers. Definitely comfortable nap temperature." she walked towards his front door. "And since I am you and you are me, you get to do all of the paperwork while I lounge on the couch." Nanao chuckled as she shunpoed to their office. She was surprised to find that she got there in one step.

"That's not fair." Shunsui whined as he showed up shortly after Nanao. He closed the door to the office. He immediately caught sight of the mountain of paperwork on Nanao's desk.

"Have fun!" Nanao quickly walked out of the office and shunpoed away. She was going to enjoy her payback.

Shunsui stared at the paperwork. 'Why does it have to be paperwork?'

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Please leave a comment or a question.


	3. Slip up

I do not own Bleach.

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~8th squad~

No one knew what was going on. Not only was their Taichou around at 8am, but he was doing paperwork, and their Fukutaichou was lounging around and not doing any paperwork! None of the squad members knew what was going on, they were slightly scared.

"You should relax more." Nanao looked up from the paperwork she was doing to see Shunsui, who was in her body, taking a nap on the couch. "Plus you should put the kimono and sakkat back on. You're getting confused looks."

"You're the one getting the looks. I would never lounge around while there was work to do. Plus there's nothing else to do. I already read most of the restricted kido books a Taichou has access to at the library." Nanao had gotten bored after three hours of reading forbidden kido spells. There was only so much knowledge she could absorb in a day.

"Hahaha. Of course my Nanao-chan would read books she wasn't allowed to read while in my body." He caught what Nanao threw at him. It was his pink kimono. "Nanao-chan wants to see what my kimono looks like on her? I'm happy to oblige you." He stood and pulled the kimono over his shoulders. The bottom of the kimono was just barely off the floor. "What do you think?"

"It looks ridiculous. Take it off." Nanao couldn't count the number of times she actually had wanted to wear his kimono, but now wasn't the time to think about that.

"Aww. Come on Nanao-chan. I think it fits quite well." Shunsui walked up to his desk and picked his sakkat up off of it. "Now the finishing touch." He placed the sakkat on his head and grinned.

"You're unbelievable. We are currently stuck in each other's body, and all you care about is what you look like? Get to work already. Luckily I can sign all of the Taichou papers now, because I have your reiatsu signature now." Nanao smiled at the one plus to the current situation, she could get all of the paperwork done without having to run around looking for Shunsui.

They both looked up when they heard a knock at the door.

"Shunsui? I'm surprised-" Jushiro stopped once he caught sight of his friend and his friend's Fukutaichou. He didn't know what to make of the scene. Shunsui sat behind his desk, straight faced, with stacks of paper around him and a pen in hand. Nanao stood beside his desk with a goofy grin wearing his friend's pink kimono and sakkat. The roles seemed very reversed.

Nanao just stared at the 13th squad Taichou. She didn't know what to say to him. She didn't think through how they were going to interact with other shinigami.

Shunsui just smiled at his old time friend. "Morning...Ukitake-Taichou." He added the title at the end after receiving a side-glare from Nanao. He gave Nanao a look that told her she had to say something as well.

'What does he normally call Ukitake-Taichou?' Nanao quickly thought back to what she had heard Shunsui use before. "Morning Jushiro." She saw a smile on Shunsui's face, so she assumed she got it right.

"Mor...ning." Jushiro didn't know what to do. Nanao seemed very energetic this morning, and Shunsui was very professional. 'Has the world ended?'

"I think he's confused, Nanao-chan." Shunsui spoke so a laugh in his voice.

"Taichou!" Nanao couldn't believe what he had just done, but then she realized she had done the same thing. 'Maybe he didn't hear...' Nanao noticed Jushiro wasn't moving. She walked up to the man and waved a hand in front of his face, no reaction. "I think we broke him."

"Yeah...sorry about that, Nanao-chan." Shunsui rubbed the back of his head as he led his friend to the couches and sat him down. He then went about making tea. "It was going to get out eventually. I'm surprised no one in our own squad has questioned what is wrong with us today."

Nanao closed the door and placed a silencing kido on it. "We can tell him, but no one else." She moved to sit in the couch across from the white haired Taichou. He still hadn't changed his facial expression. "Ukitake-Taichou?"

Shunsui walked back to the two and put a tray of tea down. "I got this. Shiro-chan-"

"Don't you dare bring up that nickname!" Jushiro looked towards the speaker of his most dreaded nickname. He was surprised to see Nanao smiling back at him. "What is going on?" He ran a hand through his hair.

"It's rather complicated." Nanao rubbed the back of her neck as she shifted in her chair. She sighed as she slouched to get more comfortable. "How has your back survived this long?! Honestly! You have the worse posture ever."

"Sorry Nanao-chan. It's just more comfortable that way." Shunsui smiled at Nanao as he lounged beside his friend. "It's a really long story Jushiro. And it's a bit confusing, but the important point is that Nanao-chan is in my body and I am in hers."

Jushiro furrowed his brows as he thought about that. Sitting across from him was his friend, or at least what looked like his friend. He was missing the normal pink kimono and sakkat, but it was him. He had his two zanpakutou on his desk with papers around them.

Beside him was Ise Nanao, his friend's Fukutaichou. She wore Shunsui's pink kimono and sakkat with her hair pulled out of its regular bun and no glasses. 'Can she see with out them?' She was lounging instead of sitting up straight or at her desk doing paperwork. There wasn't a piece of paper on her desk, just her zanpakutou.

"I can see the difference, but how can you prove that that is true and you aren't just pulling a prank?" Jushiro wasn't in the mood for his friend's games, but Nanao would never play along with him.

"That's easy." Shunsui got up and walked to his desk. He picked up his two zanpakutou. "Nanao-chan? Can you make sure no reiatsu gets out of the room?"

Nanao quickly cast the necessary kido. "You're good." Nanao walked over to her own desk and leaned on the edge of it.

Jushiro watched as the quite girl he knew drew both of his friend's zanpakutou. 'They let her touch them?'

"Flower Wind Rage and Flower God Roar, Heavenly Wind Rage and Heavenly Demon Sneer. Katen Kyokotsu." Shunsui stood in front of his stunned friend with his zanpakutou in Shikai form. They felt a lot heavier in his hands, but he could still easily hold them. "Believe us now, Juu-chan?"

Jushiro was surprised it had worked. Zanpakutou never let anyone but their masters hold them, let alone release them. 'What is going on?'

"I don think he believes us yet." Nanao sighed as she picked up her own zanpakutou. 'Looks like you're getting man handled.' She could feel her zanpakutou laugh at her statement. "Draw your prey in and devour them with darkness, Kurogokegumo." She slid her hand along her blade as her blade turned black and wrapped around her hands. She was left with a black lace glove on each hand.

"I've never seen your release before, Nanao-chan. Your's turns into a pair of lace gloves. They would probably look better on your soft delicate hands." Shunsui thought they looked strange on his own hands as he resealed his zanpakutou and placed them back on his desk.

"Yeah. I'm sure you've realized that I can wield my sealed zanpakutou in both hands." She noticed the surprised look on her body's face. "Seriously! How long have we sparred together?! What were you focusing on the entire time?!" She resealed her own zanpakutou and placed it on the desk with a bit of annoyance showing in her movements.

"My cute Nanao-chan of course." Shunsui smiled as he tried to hug Nanao, she avoided him.

Jushiro sat back down on the couch as he watched his friend avoided getting a hug from his Fukutaichou. Normally his friend would be the one chasing, and Nanao would have just thrown something at him. 'Them switching bodies seems very plausible at the moment. It would definitely make this less of a headache.' He looked up as he thought of an idea.

Nanao avoided Shunsui dive and put his desk between them. "Kyoraku-Taichou! Stop it!" She was really close to launching a kido at him. She only hesitated because all the ones she wanted to use would have caused serious damage to her own body.

"Aww. Nanao-chan is so cute." Shunsui smiled at Nanao. He dropped his smiled when he felt a pair of arms wrap around his neck and hot breath run across the back of his neck.

"Nanao-chan is very cute." Jushiro smiled as he whispered into Nanao's ear. His eyes were on his friend, no reaction from him but he got one out of the girl.

"Jushiro! Stop hitting on me! I know I'm even more irresistible in Nanao-chan's body, but I belong to Nanao-chan. And I promised I wouldn't do anything to her body without her permission." Shunsui struggled to get out of his friend's grip. He found it quite easy.

"Okay. I believe you. Shunsui would have strangled me if I had done that normally, and Ise-san wouldn't have said that." Jushiro was completely convinced that they had indeed switched bodies. "How did this happen?"

"I feel on something in my house. A smoke cloud came out of it and we both switched bodies. So far it doesn't seem to be a timed thing." Shunsui smiled at his friend as he sat on his desk. He swung his legs, it felt weird to be short.

"I've been trying to find something to get us back into our own bodies, but so far I haven't found anything. Although I only got through two-thirds of the kido books in the Taichou section of the library." Nanao sat down behind Shunsui's desk and began working on paperwork again.

Jushiro was still taken back by the sight of his friend's body doing paperwork. It wasn't something he ever did willingly. "How are you going to hide this from Sensei?"

Nanao stopped and looked at Shunsui. She hadn't even thought about what they were going to do about keeping it from the Soutaichou. She grumbled as she placed her head in her hands.

"Haven't gotten to that yet." Shunsui smiled at his friend as he lifted the hiding and silencing kido. He was surprised that it was actually a disguise kido instead of a hiding one. "Why do you ask?"

A hell butterfly flew into the window and landed in front of Nanao. "All Taichous and Fukutaichous, report for an immediate meeting and debriefing." Nanao and Shunsui looked at each other with worried looks.

Nanao held her hand out to Shunsui. "I'm going to need your kimono and sakkat if we're going to pull this off."

Shunsui smiled at Nanao. "Of course my lovely Nanao-chan. Anything else you would like me to remove?" He had removed both items of clothing and was pulling up his hair into Nanao's usual bun.

"NO!" Nanao glared at him as she placed the kimono on her shoulders. She saw him looking around her desk for a clip. She rolled her eyes at the messy bun he had her hair held in. "Let me." She easily got her hair into proper order and clipped it into place. She opened one of her drawers and pulled out a spare pair of glasses. "They restrict my reiatsu. Otherwise I would have been promoted to Taichou long ago."

"Nanao-chan doesn't want to get promoted?" Shunsui was surprised, but soon put a smiled on his face. "My lovely Nanao-chan didn't want to leave her precious Shunsui?"

"It's...it's not that! There just isn't anyone else that can make you do your work." Nanao looked away from him as she pulled the sakkat down over her eyes. "Come on. We have a meeting to get to." She walked out of their office and headed for 1st squad.

"Is that what you look like when you blush?" Jushiro had never seen his friend blush. It was a curious sight.

Shunsui smiled as he followed after his body. "Guess so. Let's hope Yamaji doesn't notice anything. At least she knows how I act at meetings."

"You just need to make sure you don't slip up, again." Jushiro followed after his friend...who was in Nanao's body...acting like himself. 'This isn't going to last long.'

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Please leave a comment or a question.


	4. Tone it down

I do not own Bleach.

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~1st squad meeting hall~

Nanao stood between Kuchiki Byakuya and Hitsugaya Toshiro. She was nervous, but didn't let it show, being around her Taichou for as long as she had helped her with that. She stood tall with a smile on her face. She was glad she had payed attention to how Shunsui acted during these meetings. She was also glad Shunsui was acting as she would, kneeling behind her with the other Fukutaichous and acting serious.

Shunsui observed what grain the floor was made of. He was bored out of his mind, but he kept it off his face. He didn't need to provoke Nanao into yelling at him. That would give them away immediately, and he did want to explain the situation to Yamamoto.

The hall went deathly silent as the Soutaichou walked into the room. He made his way to the front of the room and sat down on his chair. He looked at the shinigami in the room. The Taichou of 3rd, 5th, and 9th were missing. They had been named traitors to Soul Society and had fled to the realm of Hollows, Heuco Mondo.

The silence continued on in the room. No one dared to make a sound.

"War is upon us." Yamamoto's voice boomed loudly in the hall. "According to information I have recieved from Urahara Kisuke, we have at least six months till Aizen will be ready to attack."

"Then why not attack now?" The gruff voice of the 11th squad Taichou asked.

"We can not!" Yamamoto raised his voice slightly. "We are not prepared to fight him. We will prepare, and wait for him to come to us."

'Definitely time to voice my opinions.' Nanao tilted her sakkat down. "You sure it will come to an all out war, Yamaji?"

Shunsui smiled, Nanao knew what he would ask. 'I wonder if she tries to guess what I will say? Wonder how often she is right?'

"There will be no sitting on the sidelines, Shunsui. Aizen has chosen war, and war is what he will get." Yamamoto knew his old pupil didn't like fighting, even if he was the stronger fighter. He noticed Shunsui frown and shrug off the answer, typical Shunsui. He also noticed his zanpakutou on his right hip, not typical Shunsui. "Speak with me in my office later."

"Can Nanao-chan be there to console me?" Nanao almost laughed at her own question. 'Definitly a Shunsui request.'

Several Taichous shook their head at the 8th squad Taichou. Typical, flirtatious Kyoraku Shunsui, so no one was really surprised.

Shunsui grumbled a bit despite the excitement he was about being able to potentially pulling of their deception. He noticed Rangiku's slight giggle and assumed he had done a Nanao reaction. 'Maybe I do pay enough attention.' He didn't notice the curious glance from Renji. Renji was wondering why Nanao had her zanpakutou on her left hip.

The meeting continued on with not much other interruptions. Just instructions for how to prepare their squads for the coming war. The meeting ended and all but four shinigami left the room.

Yamamoto eyes his old pupil. He could see nothing out of place, other than the zanpakutou. "Are you keeping secrets from me, Kyoraku-Taichou?"

Nanao eyed the Soutaichou back. She was surprised at how calm she was. Yamamoto only addressed Shunsui like that when he was in serious trouble. "Of course not, Yamaji." She tipped up her sakkat and smiled at Yamamoto. 'Please buy it.' Nanao hoped in her mind as she waited for Yamamoto's response.

Shunsui stayed where he was. He didn't want to cause problems for Nanao. 'You're doing great sweet heart. Keep it up.' He pep talked Nanao in his mind.

Nanao felt a hum from the zanpakutou on her hip. She suddenly realized in her mind what the Soutaichou was questioning. She had placed Shunsui's zanpakutou on the wrong side. She was mostly left handed and had her zanpakutou on her right hip, but he always had them on his left side. 'Stupid Nanao-chan...great! Now I'm calling myself Nanao-chan! What's next?! I start using Shunsui's first name when I talk about him?!'

Yamamoto eyed Shunsui critically. Everything was as it should be, almost to perfectly though. "Go see Unahana-Taichou, both of you." He turned to his Fukutaichou to instruct him on what Unahana was suppose to check for.

Nanao looked at the Soutaichou in surprise to hide her worry. 'Crap! Will she be able to tell we switch bodies? We have each other's reiatsu, so she shouldn't be able to.' Nanao chuckled before she asked her next question. "Is that really necessary, Yamaji?"

"Yes. Now go." Yamamoto eyed his 8th squad Taichou and Fukutaichou. They seemed like themselves, but they seemed quite comfortable with each other. 'Maybe what I've been hearing is wrong. It did come from 8th after all.' Yamamoto passed off the rumours he had heard as false. Who would believe that Shunsui would willingly do paperwork? Or that Ise Nanao would flirt with him in publics, or in the office!

~4th squad hospital~

Unahana walked back into the only occupied patient room. She was confused as to what she was looking for, but had found nothing. She looked up from her paperwork as she noticed a most curious sight. Shunsui was not flirting with Nanao, and Nanao was gazing lovingly at Shunsui. 'Maybe there is something wrong.'

Nanao noticed the 4th squad Taichou walk into the room and give them a curious look. "Is there something wrong with my lovely Nanao-chan?" Nanao tried to hug her body. She was glad her muscle memory kicked in and kicked her away.

Shunsui didn't know what had happened. He had seen his body move towards him, then his leg came up and kicked it away from him. 'She trained her body to reject me?' Shunsui hadn't thought Nanao had been rejecting him long enough to develop muscle memories.

Unahana relaxed a little. 'That's a little more normal, but I wonder if there is something going on between them.' She glanced back at her sheet and remembered what she had been doing. "There is nothing wrong that I could find. You both are free to go."

"See Taichou. Nothing to worry about." Shunsui jumped off the bed and began walking for the door. He knew Retsu was suspicious of something, so he needed to act more like Nanao.

"But I worry about my beautiful Nanao-chan." Nanao followed after her body with a childish grin on her face. She was surprised at how well she could imitate Shunsui.

"I'm not your anything!" Shunsui was surprised that he was getting flustered. 'Does she always get this flustered when I call her mine?'

The two continued their pretending till they were both back in their office. Both slumped onto the couch and sighed heavily.

Nanao tipped the sakkat on her head down. "No wonder you sleep for so long. Your type of flirting is exhausting. I'll tone down my reactions when we get our bodies back." Nanao was exhausted. She was glad her muscle memories were working, but annoyed at how accurate her attacks were.

Shunsui was just as exhausted as Nanao. "Sorry for being so forward. I'll try to tone it down as well."

"You don't have to." Shunsui looked up curiously at Nanao. "You keep me on my toes...and the attention is not that bad." Nanao didn't know what had come over her. 'Exhaustion...works like alcohol on me.' She got up and planned to head back home...Shunsui's home. "Why did this have to happen?"

Shunsui smiled at Nanao. "Tired?" He got a nod from his body. "How about we go to your room, pack some clothes for your body, then we can go back to my house? It will be easier that way." Shunsui leaned onto his body's broad shoulder. 'Wow, my body is hot.'

'Dont go flattering yourself.' Shunsui could have laughed, but he noticed Nanao starting to nod off. 'Take her to bed, but I doubt she will let anything happen.'

Shunsui rolled his eyes as he walked towards Nanao's room to pack for his extended stay at his...own...house.

* * *

Please leave a comment or a question.


	5. Flirting back

I do not own Bleach.

* * *

~1 month later~

Events in 8th squad has settled down. No one really notices the changes in their Taichou and Fukutaichou that much anymore. They expected something like this to happen. Their Fukutaichou would eventually accept Kyoraku-Taichou's advances, but they didn't expect their Taichou to run away from her.

"Maybe she's giving him a taste of his own medicine?" "I hear she's using his own tactics on him." "Maybe he doesn't really mean what he was saying?" The whispers and rumours continued.

Nanao got off of the roof she was on and walked towards her office. 'Looks like I need to act more like him. Why is it so hard to flirt with myself?' Nanao sighed as she walked into the office.

"Morning Taichou?" Shunsui hugged his body tightly. His eyes widened when Nanao hugged him back.

"What a lovely surprise! My lovely Nanao-chan is giving me a hug!" Nanao picked up her body and twirled around with it. 'This is embarrassing.'

"Of course I would. Any luck finding the kido?" Shunsui was happy, the happiest he could ever be. He skipped to Nanao's desk and sat on top of it. He just smiled at Nanao while swinging his legs.

Naano shook her head as she slouched on the couch. "I've gone through almost the entire library. Ukitake doesn't remember which book it's in, so I have to look in every single one of them that I don't remember reading before." She could still see words going through her mind.

"Did you read through all of the books as you went?" Shunsui could have guessed she did. She was in the Taichou restricted section.

"Of course. I may never get another chance to." Nanao sat up a bit more and rubbed the back of her neck, it was sore.

She relaxed when she felt a pair of hands on her neck, it had a healing kido on them. "Let me." Nanao was surprised how relaxed she was with having Shunsui touch her neck, but then again it's his neck actually. "I have a surprise."

Nanao wasn't paying much attention. She was too relaxed, but she was listening.

Shunsui smiled at how well relaxing Nanao was going. "I made us a picnic. We can go to the Sakura garden and relax for the afternoon."

"That sounds nice, Nanao-chan." Nanao smiled at Shunsui. She quite liked acting like him. Being lazy had it's perks.

Shunsui smiled at Nanao. "I know it does, Shunsui." He liked the sound of his name in Nanao's voice.

"None of that. I wouldn't call you that in the office." Nanao knew they needed to be careful in the squad buildings. There was always someone listening. "Let's go, shall we." Nanao picked up the basket from beside her desk and put an arm around her body's shoulder.

The two walked in silence to the garden of Sakura trees. They ate under a tree and admired the Jugatsuzakuras that were in bloom.

"There you two are." Nanao tipped up her sakkat and looked towards the white haired Taichou. Shunsui turned and smiled at the man. "I was a little surprised when your squad said you two had left together."

"Good thing you already know why." Shunsui smiled at his friend. They were in public, so he couldn't greet him normally. "Would you like to join us, Ukitake-Taichou?"

"No thank you, Ise-san. I am actually here to collect Shunsui for a mission." Jushiro smiled at his friends body. It was weird seeing his friend, but knowing he was actually in the other body present. "Sadly, Ise-san can not join us though."

"What? But Taichou missions are too dangerous for my Nanao-chan." Shunsui couldn't help himself, he was protective by nature. Especially when it came to his Nanao-chan.

"Relax. I already told you didn't I? If I didn't wear my glasses all the time, I would have already been promoted to a Taichou a long time ago. So relax. I can handle one mission." Nanao stretched as she stood up.

"Don't you need your own zanpakutou?" Jushiro saw his friends two zanpakutou and not Nanao's single wakizashi.

"Nope. Disguise kido. What you see as Shunsui's zanpakutou, is actually my one zanpakutou. One of the useful kidos I found while searching for the damned body switching one." Nanao smiled at Ukitake, it was nice having someone who knew their secret. Nanao noticed the surprised and overly happy look that was plastered on her body's face. "What-"

"Nanao-chan called me by my first name!" Shunsui was hugged Nanao tightly. "I'm so happy!"

"Calm down will you!" Nanao easily pried her body off of her. "I'll be back later. Try to get some of the paperwork done please...Shunsui." Nanao wanted to see what she could get him to do by using his name.

"Anything for my lovely Nanao-chan. Just promise me something." Shunsui used a look Nanao had given him often when she really wanted him to do something. He hoped it would work on Nanao the same way it worked on him.

'Wow. That look is really cute. Definitely need to use it more often.' Nanao knew she would do what ever he asked. She hated the power the look had. "What is it?" She decided to act as well. She cupped her body's face with Shunsui's hand. 'My face is soft, and it fits perfectly. I look cute when I blush.'

Shunsui didn't know what Nanao was up to, but he was loving it. "Don't get hurt...please." He wanted to lean close and kiss Nanao, but he promised he wouldn't do anything.

Nanao didn't know what was coming over her. She just had the strong urge to kiss her own body. 'That's weird.' She kissed her cheek and leaned close to her ear. "I promise, Shunsui." She pulled away and turned after seeing the bright red on Shunsui's face...her face. 'This is still so confusing.'

Jushiro didn't know what to do. Both were acting like themselves, but unlike themselves. He shook his head to clear it. "Shall we go?"

"Yep. I'll see you when I get back, Nanao-chan." Nanao smiled at Shunsui as she tipped her sakkat and left with Jushiro with shunpo.

Shunsui was glued in place. Nanao had almost kissed him, and she had made him blush...a lot. "My sweet Nanao-chan is getting bolder." Shunsui smiled as he packed up the picnic and headed back towards 8th squad.

"Please be safe...Nanao." Shunsui knew she would be fine, but that didn't ease the worry in his heart.

~Rukongai outskirts~

"So what are we doing?" Nanao hadn't heard what the mission was. It was just her and Ukitake looking around.

"You both are to keep Hollows away while I set up my pillars." Nanao looked over to see the Taichou of 12th squad walking towards them. "Just keep them away and don't interrupt me." He walked off to the group of 12th squad members that were constructing a strange white block.

'Must be the pillar. Did he say there were multiple?' Nanao felt several weak Hollows nearby. "Let's leave the scientist be." Nanao walked away from the shinigami group and towards the forest.

Ukitake followed his friend's body into the forest. He could feel several Hollows nearby, but none were very strong. "So how does the disguise kido work?"

Nanao placed a hand on her zanpakutou. "It just makes my wakizashi look like Shunsui's, then it creates a mirage of Shunsui's katana. Pretty simple." Nanao leaned against a tree as she monitored the Hollows, none were coming any closer to them.

'I still don't like being man handled.' Nanao rolled her eyes at her zanpakutou. 'You're the same. Admit it. You like being the man in the relationship.'

'Shut it. It's a nice change I'll admit, but maybe I just have to flirt more with him. He knows how to unhinge himself, so I can use what he is doing on him when I get my body back.' Nanao was still a girl at heart. She liked the attention Shunsui had been giving her, but she did like how she could easily fluster her own body so easily. She liked the control she felt.

'What if you never do?' Kurogokegumo knew there was a chance they would never get their original bodies back. 'What will you do then?'

'I don't know.' Nanao climbed to a thick, low hanging branch and sat down on it. The Hollows weren't moving, so they didn't need to do anything just yet. 'Guess I will have to get used to being Shunsui. We'll have to tell the Soutaichou eventually. Shunsui will probably want to tell him before the war begins. He doesn't want me involved in it.'

'He just doesn't want to expose you to what war is like, but I don't think he will go to war in your body.' Nanao nodded, her zanpakutou was right.

The quiet was interrupted by the scream of a Hollow.

Nanao sighed as she jumped off the branch she was on. "Looks like we actually have to do something." She felt the once idle Hollow signatures start to move closer to them. She could start to make them out through the trees.

Jushiro stepped up beside her. "At least it won't take to long." The Hollows were well below the level of seated officers.

"Then let's finish this quickly." Nanao drew her zanpakutou and waited for the Hollows.

* * *

Please leave a comment or a question.


	6. Sleepless nights

I do not own Bleach.

* * *

~November 31st~

Nanao woke with a start. She looked around to see what had woken her up. She noticed the pile of books beside her that had fallen to the floor. She sighs as she picks them up and puts them back on the shelf. 'Nothing. Not a single thing in all of these books.' She trudged back towards 8th squad. She had spent the whole night looking for the body swapping kido, she hadn't found it or anything close to it.

She walked into the office and fell onto the couch. She was tired, but didn't want to go all the way back to Shunsui's house.

"You're here early, Kyoraku-Taichou." Nanao looked up to see one of the squad members at the door.

"Just had a late night." Nanao put a smile on her face as she laid her head back down. "What time does Nanao-chan usually get here?"

"About now, Taichou." Shunsui walked into the office and to Nanao's desk. They were getting better at being each other around the squad. "Since you're here, why don't you start on the paperwork you have to do?" Shunsui sat down and started filling out the work on the desk.

"Aww, but Nanao-chan! It's too early for work. Why don't you come cuddle with me?" Nanao smiled at Shunsui, she was having fun teasing him in front of the squad. He had to reject her, because that is what she would do.

"That is inappropriate, Taichou. Please do your work." Shunsui was trying hard not to laugh. He knew what Nanao was doing, and he was enjoying it just as much.

"I'll go see how the morning practice is going." The squad member that was still standing at the door smiled as he left. Their superiors were back to being themselves.

"How did your all night search go?" Shunsui was worried about her. She hadn't showed up at his house when she said she would.

"I was almost done by the time I said I would leave, so I stayed and finished going through the books. I guess I fell asleep at some point after finishing." Nanao walked to Shunsui's desk and sat down heavily in the chair. "I found nothing. Not even anything that could vaguely be used to help." She massaged her temple, she was getting a headache.

"Don't worry." Shunsui wrapped his arms around his body's neck. Nanao hadn't notice that he had moved. "We'll think of something." She kissed her hair...his hair. He laughed at his own confusion. "Why don't we go home and I'll make you breakfast?"

Nanao's stumoch grumbled loudly. "I think your body says yes." She chuckled as she followed Shunsui back to his house.

She sat on one of the counter seats as she watched Shunsui prepare breakfast. She was pretty good at cooking herself, but she was to tired to do that.

"What do you like in your omelette?" Shunsui was pulling vegetables out of the fridge and stacking them on the counter.

"Mushroom, spinach, green peppers, and olives please." Nanao smiled as she listed off her favourite veggies.

"What kind of cheese?" Shunsui put the vegetables that he didn't need back as he waited for Nanao's reply.

"Do you have Bre?" Nanao liked the sound of breakfast. "What do you like in your omelette, Shunsui?" Nanao was genuinely curious. She wanted to make him breakfast one day.

Shunsui raised an eyebrow at her question. "I like almost anything, but my favourite would have to be mushroom, broccoli, spinach, and white cheddar. And maybe with a bit of hollandaise sauce on top. Do you want me to make you some?" He saw Nanao smile and close her eyes when he mentioned the sauce. He gathered everything he needed and set about making the sauce and cutting the veggies to sauté them.

Nanao laid her head down on her arms and closed her eyes. She didn't realize she had fallen asleep till she opened her eyes and smelled the food. "That smells divine." Nanao stretched as she followed Shunsui to the dinning room.

They sat opposite to each other and ate quietly. It was a good morning, till a little black butterfly fluttered into the room.

Nanao held out her hand and listened to the message. She sighed as it finished and stood up. "There's a meeting for all Taichous. I'll come back once it's done." She kissed the top of Shunsui's head...her head...and walked out the door.

~night fall~

Nanao sighed deeply. The meeting had taken longer than expected, and she had forgotten about the paperwork on her desk. She was even more tired than when she had woken up in the library. The stress in her neck had increased as well. Who would have thought that one of the ryoka would join Aizen?

Nanao sighed again. 'At least everyone thinks I'm Shunsui.' She opened the door and stopped when she saw the mess on the floor. Books were scattered everywhere and other objects as well. She closed the door and took several deep breaths to calm herself down.

*CRASH*

'Nope.' She inhaled deeply as she turned into the study. "Shunsui...WHAT ARE YOU DOING?"

Shunsui popped out from behind a stack of books. He smiled at Nanao. "I found something. There's a bit that I'm having trouble decoding, but so far it seems promising." He walked around the mess and handed Nanao the book he had found.

Nanao turned to the bookmarked page. She read through the page. "So all three will happen...and we will probably get our bodies back...shall we try it?" Nanao smiled at Shunsui as she turned and walked out of the room.

"If my Nanao-chan wants to." Shunsui followed her as they walked into his bedroom. It was the farthest from the front door and the only doors to it led to either the bathroom, closet, or backyard. Probably no one could see what they were doing. 'Logical place. Nanao-chan has always been a bit secretive.'

They both sat on the floor facing each other with the book between them.

Nanao scanned the page again and read it thoroughly. She easily decoded the entire kido, there were a few ambiguous points but nothing major. She held the book as she read the set up of the kido. "Shunsui, place both your zanpakutou on the floor...then I'll place mine on top so it touches both." With the zanpakutou in their place she laid the book down on her lap. "Place a hand on each of yours, and I'll take care of the rest."

"100 Threads of fate, 90 Binding threads, 80 words of binding, 70 silencing words, 60 moments of silence, 50 memorable moments, 40 heartbreaking memories, 30 breaks to the heart, 20 hearts of one destiny, 10 destinies of fate, no time left to fulfill lost dreams."

The zanpakutou began to glow.

"Time that lies beneath the sand, sand that falls through the glass of time, Fate that draws hearts together and pulls worlds apart, people that twist their fate and take it in their hands to govern, fates that slip through hands and fall to the raging sea of time, let hearts be joined and destinies be obtained."

The world around the two went black, but Nanao could still see the book.

"What was now is then and what was then is now. What was here is there and what was there is here. Change what it should be to what it has been and what it has been to what it should be. Change the place of hearts and change the place of minds. The voice of reason and the voice of judgement, silence your rebuttals and accept the change in fate."

Nanao's voice changed from Shunsui's deep voice to her own voice as she read. Once she had said the last word she could no longer see the book in her lap. She was also holding onto Shunsui's zanpakutou instead of her own. She looked up and met Shunsui's chocolate brown eyes.

"Shunsui!" She jumped at him and hugged his neck tightly as she breathed in his scent, fresh dirt and sakuras. "It worked! It really worked!" She couldn't contain her excitement. She was back in her body, and Shunsui's in his.

Shunsui just smiled and held her close. 'This feels much better.' He breathed in the sweet scent of lavender and lemons, Nanao's scent.

Nanao pulled away from him and kissed him. She felt him smile against her lips as he laid back onto the floor. She broke their kiss and sat up, her legs on either side of him. "To think such a rugged body would have such soft silky lips." She ran a finger over his bottom lip. She wanted to tease him, she had gotten used to it over the last few months.

"Nanao-chan is teasing me? I think I'm dreaming." He ran a hand through Nanao's hair after letting it out of its clip. It was cold black satin that tickled his skin. "Am I dreaming, Nanao-chan?"

Nanao leaned down and pressed another kiss to his lips. "It does seem that way, doesn't it?" She kisses up to his ear. "I...ov..ou"

Shunsui didn't fully hear what she said, she had whispered it so softly. He drew her face back in front if his own and kissed her. "What was that my lovely Nanao-chan? Do you have something important to tell your Shunsui?" He kissed her again, this time slipping his tongue into her mouth.

Nanao's mind went blank, she didn't care about rules or regulations. All she wanted was the man lying beneath her. When they finally break their kiss, Nanao is gasping for air. She looks at Shunsui's eyes and melted, they have a grin in them and his childish grin is on his face. "I love you, Shunsui."

Shunsui sat up and kissed her again. "I love you too, Nanao." He trails kisses down her neck and smiled at the gasps and moans she made. "Will you stay with me tonight, Nanao?" He trails back to her lips and pulled away. He looks into her deep violet eyes with all the love he had for her.

Nanao smiled at him. She pulled his face gently down into a kiss. "yes" she whispered breathlessly against his lips.

* * *

Please leave a comment or a question.


	7. Sharing

I do not own Bleach.

* * *

~the next morning~

Nanao could hear birds start to tweet, but they were muffled by the closed screen doors. She snuggled closer to the warmth she was pressed against her bare skin. She ran a hand through the hair on the chest her head was resting on. She listened to the steady beating of Shunsui's heart. It was strong and constant. She settled back into sleep listening to his beating heart.

Shunsui was awake the moment she snuggled closer to him. He just continued to look asleep. He stayed like that till Nanao's breathing evened out again and she was asleep. He opened his eyes and looked down at the sleeping form beside him. Her ivory skin glowed almost like silver satin in the predawn light that filtered into the skylights in his room. Her obsidian locks spread out onto the pillow like ink splashed onto a sheet of paper.

'Very poetic. Are you going to turn that into a song?' Shunsui almost grumbled at his zanpakutou aloud, but silenced it to keep himself from waking Nanao.

He looked up at the clock on his wall, 7:06. 'Too early.' Shunsui closed his eyes and drifted back to sleep with the scent of lavender filling his nostrils.

*BEEP BEEP BEEP*

*BEEP BEEP BEEP*

*BEEP BEEP BEEP*

Shunsui pried his eyes open against the blinding light of the morning sun. He tried to find the source of the beeping sound.

"It's at the door." Nanao grumbled as she rolled off of Shunsui. She grabbed his pink kimono from off the floor and wrapped it around herself. She walked to the door and opened it. A hell butterfly flew in. Nanao followed it back to the bed.

Shunsui sat up and held a hand out for the butterfly, but it wasn't a quiet message. "SHUNSUI! GET OUT OF BED NOW! WE ARE LEAVING FOR WAR AT 11. MAKE SURE YOU ARE THERE ON TIME!" Shunsui stared at his finger for moments after the butterfly had left. He hadn't expected Yamamoto to yell at him so early.

"It's almost 9:30. You should take a shower." Nanao walked towards the kitchen. "I'll make breakfast so you can eat before you go."

Shunsui ran a hand through his loose hair. He got out of bed and went to his bathroom to take a shower.

When he got out of the bathroom, he was greeted by the smell of breakfast. He walked to the kitchen and was greeted by a lovely sight. Nanao was cooking with a deep blue kimono she had packed for herself with his pink kimono over her shoulders. "Got used to having this on you?" He kissed her cheek as he wrapped his arms around her waist.

Nanao giggled at his good morning antics. "Not really, but I wanted to wear it. It feels like you're constantly hugging me. Nanao could tell she was blushing, but she didn't hide it. She knew how cute Shunsui would find it. "Breakfast is done." She pulled her pot of sauce off the burner.

Shunsui saw a bright red sauce in the pot. 'What is that?' He tried to think of the sauces he knew, and which would be suitable for breakfast.

Nanao kissed his cheek to pull him out of his thoughts. "Hungry?" She poured a bit of the sauce over the two omelettes on the counter. She went to pick up the plates, but Shunsui beat her to them.

"After you my dear sweet Nanao-chan." Shunsui smiled as he followed her to his dinning room. He sat down next to her with a happy grin. "So what deliciousness has Nanao-chan made for her Shunsui?"

"Just an omelette, with a secret sauce." Nanao winked at him. She took a bite of her omelette and smiled.

Shunsui took a bit of his and smiled as well. "Nanao-chan likes spicy things. I will definitely remember that." He took another bite as the spices exploded in his mouth. It was getting pretty spicy, but then it turned almost sweet. "Now how did it do that?"

Nanao smiled as she finished half of her breakfast. "Secret. I'll tell you if you come back alive."

Shunsui pulled Nanao close to him and kissed her. "I will come back Nanao. I promise I will. I would never leave you alone."

Nanao could have cried with relief. "I know you wouldn't. I guess I just needed to hear you say it." She kissed him softly then pulled out of his embrace. "You better finish. You need to be in front of the Senkaimon in ten minutes." She took her empty plate back to the kitchen and then walked back towards the bedroom.

Shunsui smiled as he watched her go. He savoured the last of his omelette then went into the kitchen to clean the dishes. He just finished when he felt a familiar weight on his shoulders. "You don't want to wear it today, Nanao-chan?" Shunsui looked over his now pink covered shoulder to see Nanao smiling sadly at him.

"You always wear it. Plus it looks much better on you than me." Nanao shifted from one foot to the other. She held out his zanpakutou for him to take. "You'll need these."

"She let you hold her?" Shunsui was surprised Katen Kyokotsu let Nanao hold her. She never let anyone other than himself hold her.

'She's okay. After all, we are connected now.' Shunsui didn't know what his zanpakutou was talking about, so he just shrugged it off and placed them in his belt.

"I'm off then, Nanao." Shunsui caressed her face as he kissed her forehead. "I'll be back, I promise." He sealed his promise with a kiss, then left before he couldn't bring himself to leave.

~a few hours later~

Nanao sat at her desk doing paperwork. She was worried about Shunsui and was trying to get him off of her mind.

'Dont work yourself too hard. It's not good for your health.' Kurogokegumo was worried for her master. She could normally brush something like this off, but it was different now.

"I know it's not." She placed her hand on her forehead. It was slick. She pulled it away to find clotted blood on her hand. "What is this?" She walked over to the mirror on the wall of the office. There was a small cut on the corner if her forehead. She quickly healed it with kido. "Wonder what that was-"

'NANAO! The kido!' Nanao suddenly realized what her zanpakutou was telling her. The kido bound soul and body together.

"Crap." Nanao left the office quickly. She heard other squad members asking where she was going, but she didn't have time. 'This is probably just from his sakkat. That thing hurts when a straw is loose.'

'Lets hope he does not sustain any worse injuries.' Nanao stepped into shunpo as soon as she was out of the office building.

She got as far as the squad gate. "Gah!" She collapsed as blood soaked through her uniform. She fell to the ground as squad members rushed towards her. She fell over, unconscious.

'You going to keep on pretending...' Nanao opened her eyes to a sudden pain in the back of her skull. She couldn't place where she remembered the voice from.

She sat up slowly as she assessed herself. Her chest was bound with a slightly bloody bandage, but other wise she was alright.

"Please don't move too much." Nanao looked up to see a young girl with short brown hair sitting in the couch across from her. "I healed most of that wound, but it is much to large to be done in one go. You are very lucky you didn't die of blood lose Ise-Fukutaichou."

"Thank you for healing me. Did one of the squad members ask you to come?" Nanao could feel the dull pain from the wound on her shoulder, it was deep.

"Yes. Although it is surprising to find someone with such a wound so far from battle. It looked like you had been run through by something." The girl sipped tea from the cup in her hands. "How did you get that wound? Your squad members said you just suddenly collapsed in front of the gate."

"It's a long story." Nanao looked around the room for something to put over her bandaged chest. She was glad she still had her hakama on. She got up to get her spare uniform from her desk. "Gah!" Nanao could feel a sharp pain across her back. Her sight darkened for a moment ss she fell to her knees.

'NANAO!' She could hear her zanpakutou off in the far distance.

Slowly she began to come back to her senses. Her back was on fire and her knees were sore. She could feel the soothing powers of a healing kido working on her back.

"Is this how you got the other wound. Your protecting someone who is fighting in the war?" Nanao shook her head.

"Not exactly. More like we share each other's pain." Nanao sat still as the girl healed her back. "What is your name?"

"Yumi...Taku Yumi." The girl spoke softly as she continued to heal the newest wound on the Fukutaichou's body. "We should go to 4th before any more severe wounds appear." Yumi held her hand out for the Fukutaichou to take.

Nanao accepted the hand and stood up shakily. "Let me just get my spare uniform." She walked to her desk and pulled out her spare kosodo. She draped it over her shoulders and followed Yumi to 4th squad.

She didn't get another wound as they traveled. Nanao sighed with relief, she hoped the war was over.

"Looks like we just need to finish healing the wounds you have." Yumi led Nanao to one of the private rooms.

"Yeah. Guess so-" Nanao lost the air in her lungs. She couldn't hear anything, but she could see the horror on Yumi's face. This attack was bad.

'Hold on Nanao!' Kurogokegumo yelled at her master, but Nanao didn't hear her. She was in darkness.

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Please leave a comment or a question.


	8. Cuddling

I do not own Bleach.

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Nano could feel a dull ache run through her body. She felt terrible. 'If this is how you feel after a battle, I never want to be in one.' She tried to open her eyes, but found the light that hit her eyes too bright. She groaned as she threw an arm, that she could manage to move, over her eyes.

"Nanao-chan?" Nanao peeked out from under her arm. Shunsui sat in a chair across the room from her. His kosodo and shitagi were draped over his shoulders and his chest and shoulder were bound. He looked worn out. "I'm glad you're awake. I was worried when Unahana told me you were also here. How do you feel?" Shunsui rubbed his tired eyes. It was well past night fall and he was still recovering, but he refused to sleep until he knew Nanao was alright.

"My question, is how did this happen?" Nanao and Shunsui looked towards the figure of the Soutaichou standing in the doorway. "How did you receive your injuries, Ise-Fukutaichou?"

Nanao couldn't speak a word. She knew she was strong enough without her glasses to not be crushed by his reiatsu, but just his presences was stifling enough to make even breathing difficult.

"You're being to overbearing, Yamaji." Shunsui spoke playfully, he wanted to lighten the heavy atmosphere.

"Both of you have been acting peculiar for the past four months. What is the cause of this?" Yamamoto was still suspicious of the two, they were keeping something from him.

"Well you see...I had this artifact thing...it broke...me and Nanao-chan switched bodies...we switched back...and now everything is just peachy." Shunsui smiled at how simple the past four months were.

Nanao stared at Shunsui with a mix of shock and confusion. 'Was the whole body switching episode simple for him? How can he explain all of that, just like that?!'

Yamamoto looked at the two. Judging by how simple Shunsui made it, it was the truth. "Stop fooling around, both of you. Don't play with stupid artifacts that you don't know about." He grunted at both of them. He turned and walked away from the two. 'At least they switched back. Trying to explain that to central 46 would have been a nightmare.'

Shunsui smiled as he watched his mentor leave. 'Dodged that lecture.'

'I think you need to worry about her more.' Katen Kyokotsu nudged at her master.

Shunsui looked towards Nanao. She was trying to stand, but her legs couldn't seem to support her weight. "Easy there sweet heart." Shunsui picked her up and sat her down on the bed.

"I'm fine. I just need to get home and rest." Nanao was tired and sore, she just wanted warm covers and a soft pillow.

Shunsui tilted her head up gently. "I'm sorry, Nanao-chan."

"What are you apologizing for?" Nanao saw hurt in his eyes, it was sad to see.

"Retsu-chan told me about your injuries." He couldn't look at Nanao anymore, he turned away. "They are the same as mine. It's part of the kido, isn't it?"

Nanao knew why he had guilt in his eyes. He felt responsible for her injuries. "Yes it is, but I'm the one that didn't tell you about it." She turned his face so that it was facing her's, but his eyes wouldn't meet hers. She gently pulled his face down towards hers. "I'm sorry." She kissed him gently.

Shunsui couldn't fight against her. She was his Nanao-chan, and he didn't want to hurt her. He stepped between her legs and hugged her. He deepened their kiss, loving the sweet taste of her.

They broke their kiss after several minutes.

Shunsui smiled down at Nanao. "My Nanao-chan is so sweet. Now what is the recipe for that spicy sweet sauce?" Shunsui nuzzled her neck and placed several feather light kisses as he went.

Nanao was having trouble getting oxygen into her lungs. "I don't...give away my secrets...that easily...Shunsui."

"Then I will have to try harder." Shunsui smiled as she gasped from his scruff tickling her skin. He kissed her face till he reached her lips, which he skipped and went back down her neck.

Nanao was holding herself back from pulling his face up to meet hers and pressing her lips against his. She was not going let him win this round.

"Please refrain from doing anything more, Kyoraku-Taichou." Both looked at the door to see the Taichou of 4th squad standing there. "Neither of you are rested enough to do any strenuous activities, and this is a hospital not your house."

"Hahaha. That's very true. Then can I take Nanao-chan home so she can rest properly?" Shunsui hugged Nanao and smiled at the woman giving him a threatening smile.

"Make sure she gets lots of rest." Unahana smiled at the two before turning and going off to treat other wounded shinigami.

"Shall we go home, Nanao-chan?" Shunsui picked Nanao up bridal style.

Nanao held back her voice from making a sound. Her wounds were sore and still needed some healing, but nothing she couldn't manage on her own. She closed her eyes as the world around her swirled around.

Shunsui slid open the front door to his house with his foot, he closed it the same way. "My bed or the guest bed?" He smiled down at Nanao.

Nanao could have glared at him, he was teasing her. "your...bed..." She buried her face into his chest. 'This is embarrassing.'

Shunsui heard what she said, but liked seeing her blushing face try to hide itself against him. "I'm sorry Nanao-chan. Can you say that again?" He kissed her cheek as he leaned against the door to his room, pushing it open.

"I...I want to sleep in your bed." Nanao couldn't hide her blush anymore, he had won this round. She looked up at him and smiled back at his childish grin. "Yeah, yeah you win this round."

"My love for you isn't a game, Nanao-chan." Shunsui laid her gently on his bed and laid down beside her. She pulled the blanket up over them and pulled Nanao close to him. He held her with her back against his chest and her head beneath his chin. "Nanao-chan fits perfectly."

Nanao smiled as she started to drift off to sleep. She was comfortably warm and had a fluffy pillow, the arm draped around her waist was a little heavy though. She wasn't too bothered thought, it relaxed her and told her that Shunsui was safe and alive. The heart beating against her back was another testament to that.

"Good night, Shunsui." Nanao smiled and drifted off to sleep.

Shunsui smiled and kissed the top of Nanao's head. "Good night Nanao."

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The End.

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Please leave a comment or a question. Hope you enjoyed the little story I thought up. The idea just sort of popped into my head, and I just couldn't stop thinking of how this story might turn out. So I tried it out, and this is what I got. Thank you for reading and please check out my other stories.


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